FAKE NEWS!

This past election year has been an interesting one to say the least. With one of the most controversial elections of our nation coming to a head, many people turned to the press to help them form their opinions on who to vote for and where to stand on certain issues. We as Americans have always been guaranteed free speech and the freedom of press. It is the responsibility of the press to do what they can to inform the American people and investigate and call out politicians on their false claims or controversies. Currently, I believe that the news media has failed to challenge the claims made by political leaders, leading to other "alternative" news sites to push stories that simply aren't true, or can't be backed up by evidence. 

We've seen the press do investigative journalism to uncover major malfeasance by either politicians or large organizations. For instance, The Washington Post's investigation and reporting on the Nixon Watergate scandal, or The Boston Globe's investigation of the child sexual abuse scandal of the Catholic church. But during the latest election year, we saw an influx of "fake news" scandals against both candidates. "Fake News" refers to the false information or propaganda published under the guise of actual news. Many people that I know, including my conspiracy theorist brother, have turned to alternative news sites during the election, because Donald Trump has made a blanket statement where any news that criticizes him is "fake news". This hurts the American people because now that the press is taking a hard stance against Trump, it is too little too late. Some people would rather believe that Hilary Clinton is a satanist and Democrats molest children in a pizza shop in DC, than look at corroborated facts. Infowars is one of the most notorious fake news sites. This site is combination of conspiracy theories and fake news headed by Alex Jones, an eccentric tin foil hat conspiracy theorist. He led the charge in the "fake news" attack against Clinton, Podesta, and the DNC. Here, Jones talks about the Clinton's ties to satanism. It doesn't take a genius to realize this is insane, but many people believer everything that comes from Infowars. 

Now that Donald Trump is president, we are seeing a dangerous precedent take place. After the exhausting election of 2016, Trump has repeatedly called reputable news sites fake; these sites include CNN, NBC, The New York Times, and more. Just today, his administration barred several liberal leaning news outlets from attending a press briefing. He has deemed these the enemy of the people, and leaders of "fake news". Several conservative leaning site were allowed including Fox News and Brietbart. The freedom of press is being undermined slowly, and false information will begin to be more widespread than ever. But what can you expect from a 70 year-old white billionaire who is addicted to the news?